Whether missing in action or abducted – we’ll never know – New Zealand soul sensation Fat Freddy’s Drop are back with sophomore album Dr Boondigga & The Big BW, to be released November 10th. Straight out of the lab and getting rave reviews around the world, the seven piece band are returning to what they love best: jamming live. This fall the collective embarks on an Album Shakedown Tour, playing Melbourne to Manchester and touching down in Los Angeles for their American headline debut.

In the wake of their massively successful back-to-back February concerts, Thievery Corporation has been busy launching a new site and getting back on the road again for a string of 15 dates, ending on October 31, in New York City. With special guest Ocote Soul Sounds, the D.C. duo and their cast of usual characters return to Terminal 5 with more of that ground breaking sound solidified in their 5th studio release Radio Retaliation.

For those of you who RSVP’d early enough, join us for an intimate evening with singer/songwriter Diane Birch at Hudson, along with the musical stylings of special guest DJ Anané Vega. If not, here’s a video clip as a small consolation.

The London trio Noisettes‘ full length album Wild Young Hearts was released in the US today on Mercury Records. From the stomping electro-rock of “Saturday Night” and galloping funk grooves of “Don’t Upset The Rhythm,” to the glorious ’60s-tinged soul of “Never Forget You,” Noisettes have made what is set to be one of 2009′s most adventurous albums. “Wild Young Hearts – it’s about feeling and acting young, whatever your age,” says guitarist Dan Smith. “It’s about having fun and not following the pack.

Crookers are DJ Phra and Bot, two Italian DJ’s/producers who met in 2003. Drawing from influences of house, hip hop and beyond, Crookers blend their beats with fidget house finesse. Crookers have sleazed out dance floors with a catalogue of original tracks that startle and surprise, but it’s their work as remixers that have made them one of the most sought out in the business. The duo has reworked tracks for the likes of Kid Cudi, The Chemical Brothers, Armand Van Helden, Bonde do Role, Brodinski and Chromeo. The result is a twisted blend of glitch, tech and distortion.

Major Lazer are uber-producers Diplo and Switch, who are out to subdue the forces of evil with a batch of futuristic dancehall bangers. Recorded at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica, the product of this collaboration, Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do (out now on Downtown Records), runs global pop culture through the filter of Major Lazer’s particular brand of 80′s-inspired digital dancehall – at once an homage to a bygone era and a look to the future of dance music.